Sensitivity and Accumulation of Perfluorooctanesulfonate and Perfluorohexanesulfonic Acid in Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) Exposed over Critical Life Stages of Reproduction and Development

Abstract

Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have emerged as contaminants of environmental concern following release from industrial practices and use of aqueous film–forming foam (AFFF). Of the identified PFAS in surface water samples from known AFFF release sites, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) are frequently detected. The focus of the present study was to determine the effects of PFOS and PFHxS to the native (and common) fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, over critical life stages of reproduction and development. Two separate, 42‐d experiments were carried out using sexually mature fish, exposed to either PFOS or PFHxS. Measured exposure concentrations for PFOS and PFHxS were 0, 44, 88, 140, and 231 µg/L and 0, 150, 300, 600, and 1200 µg/L, respectively. At day 21 of the adult exposure, eggs were collected and reared for 21 d to determine the effects of PFOS or PFHxS on development, growth, and survival of larvae. The no‐observable‐effect concentration (NOEC) for PFOS was 44 µg/L, and the lowest‐observable‐effect concentration was 88 µg/L based on reduced growth in juvenile (F1) fish. Effects from PFOS exposures that did not follow a standard dose–response curve were reduced gonadosomatic index in adult males (at 44 µg/L) and reduced fecundity in females (at 140 µg/L). There was no toxicity on apical endpoints to report on adult or juvenile fish exposed to PFHxS up to 1200 µg/L. Importantly, we note that both PFOS and PFHxS accumulated in gonads and liver of adult fish following the respective exposures. The present study supports previous literature on PFOS toxicity and accumulation in fathead minnows but resulted in a lower NOEC than previously established for this species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:811–819. © 2020 SETAC

Chronic Reproductive Toxicity Thresholds for Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus) Exposed to Perfluorohexanoic Acid (PFHxA) and a Mixture of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) and PFHxA

“…Toxicology data for even the most frequently occurring or abundant PFAS (e.g., perfluorooctane sulfonic acid [PFOS], perfluorohexane sulfonic acid [PFHxS], perfluorooctanoic acid, and perfluorohexanoic acid [PFHxA]) are limited for comprehensive ecotoxicological risk assessment (ERA) of PFAScontaminated ecosystems (see McCarthy et al 2017; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 2018; Divine et al 2019; US Environmental Protection Agency 2019; Conder et al 2020). This general dearth of PFAS toxicity data prompted the US Department of Defense to fund PFAS toxicology research for terrestrial species, generating numerous studies that have since improved our understanding of chronic PFAS toxicology (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program 2016;Salice et al 2018;Flynn et al 2019Flynn et al , 2020Flynn et al , 2021Dennis et al 2020Dennis et al , 2021East et al 2021;Rewerts et al 2021;Suski et al 2021;Tornabene et al 2021;Weir and Salice 2021;McCarthy et al 2021b). A synopsis of these works was provided by Leeson et al (2021).…”

Multi- and Transgenerational Effects of Developmental Exposure to Environmental Levels of PFAS and PFAS Mixture in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

“…In the only other transgenerational study of fecundity, Marziali et al [80] found no effect in F0-F2 in harlequin flies. In PFOS studies, fecundity is found to be either decreased at moderate doses [78,81] or to have no effect [34,77], including no effect in F1 and/or F2 [34,78]. In an F0-F2 study of a moderate dose PFAS mixture containing low doses of PFOA and PFOS on Japanese medaka, Lee et al [82] reported no significant effect.…”

Toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to aquatic vertebrates

“…PFOS/L (1 mg) is lethal to sexually mature adult fathead minnow (P. promelas) within two weeks (Ankley et al, 2005). PFOS exposure can reduce growth in F1 fish (Suski et al, 2020), cause a decrease aromatase activity in males (Ankley et al, 2005), while PFOA altered fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (FAO) activity (Oakes et al, 2004). PFOS exposure can reduce the gonadosomatic index in adult males, cause histopathological alterations in the ovaries of adult females (Ankley et al, 2005), and reduce fecundity in females (Suski et al, 2020).…”

“…PFOS exposure can reduce growth in F1 fish (Suski et al, 2020), cause a decrease aromatase activity in males (Ankley et al, 2005), while PFOA altered fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (FAO) activity (Oakes et al, 2004). PFOS exposure can reduce the gonadosomatic index in adult males, cause histopathological alterations in the ovaries of adult females (Ankley et al, 2005), and reduce fecundity in females (Suski et al, 2020). PFOS exposure can upregulate plasma testosterone in males (Ankley et al, 2005;Oakes, et al, 2005), 11-ketotestosterone in both sexes, and 17β-estradiol titers in females (Oakes, et al, 2005), and occasionally alter VTG and egg yolk precursor protein (Oakes, et al, 2005).…”